Egypt is putting pressure on Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to make up his mind whether he wants peace with Israel or continuing with the Intifada, the London-based Asharq al Awsat reported on Tuesday.

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Those were the terms in which Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher put it Sunday when the Palestinian Authority president held his first high-level meeting with an Arab ally after Israel ended the siege that confined him to his Ramallah headquarters.

"Egypt urged President Arafat to define his posture and decide on his future steps, either peace or more intifada," the newspaper quoted Egyptian sources as saying.

It also reported Maher, who was accompanied by Osama el Baz, the senior political adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, urged Arafat to put pressure on armed Palestinian groups to cease their "acts of violence" against Israel.

Meanwhile, Maher said Tuesday that Arafat is the legitimate president democratically elected by Palestinians. Arafat is a man of peace, the Egyptian minister declared. (Albawaba.com)